Intracranial abscesses in infancy and childhood: report of 40 cases.

Forty cases of brain abscesses in patients under 15 years of age observed between 1960 and 1982 are reported in this study. There has been a progressive decrease in the number of admissions due to that disease. The typical clinical picture was subacute and characterized by intracranial hypertension, fever, alterations in the level of consciousness, seizures and signs of localization in a decreasing order of frequency. Otites and sinusites predominated as primary foci and the most common localizations were frontal and parietal. Electroencephalogram and examination of the cerebrospinal fluid were useful. Currently, computerized tomography is indicated as the test of choice. Thirty-four patients underwent surgeries and the mortality rate was 35.2%.